Sura 51. Adh-Dhariyat (The Winds that Scatter) Mecca
T
he name of the chapter comes from verse 1: “By the (winds) that scatter broadcast.” Allah declares on oath that judgement is coming. Muhammad claims he is in the line of earlier prophets who he believed were called a madman or a magician like himself. Examples of the destruction of unbelievers who rejected the signs of the earlier messengers are cited as Muhammad turns away from his ministry in Mecca.
The oath of judgement to come
“By the (winds) that scatter broadcast;
and those that lift and bear away heavy weights;
and those that flow with ease and gentleness;
and those that distribute and apportion by command” (1-4)
Are the winds greater than Allah that he has need to swear by them?
Unbelievers suspicious over day of judgement
“They ask, “When wi ll be the day of judgment and justice?”
(It will be) a day when they will be tried (and tested) over the fire!
“Taste ye your trial! This is what ye used to ask to be hastened!” (v 12-14)
Believers safe on judgement day
“As to the righteous, they will be in the midst of gardens and springs,
Taking joy in the things which their Lord gives them, because, before then, they lived a good life.
They were in the habit of sleeping but little by night,
And in the hour of early dawn, they (were found) praying for forgiveness (v 15-18).
Abraham’s faith and the sign of the destruction of Sodom
“H
as the story reached thee, of the honoured guests of Abraham? Behold, they entered his presence, and said: “Peace!” He said, “Peace!” and thought, “These seem unusual people.” Then he turned quickly to his household, brought out a fatted calf, and placed it before them ………. he said, “Will ye not eat?” (When they did not eat), He conceived a fear of them. They said, “Fear not,” and they gave him glad tidings of a son endowed with knowledge. But his wife came forward (laughing) aloud: she smote her forehead and said: “A barren old woman!” They said, “Even so has thy Lord spoken: and He is full of wisdom and knowledge.” (Abraham) said: “And what, O ye Messengers, is your errand (now)?” They said, “We have been sent to a people in sin; “To bring on, on them, (a shower of) stones of clay (brimstone), ”Marked as from thy Lord for those who trespass beyond bounds.” Then We evacuated those of the believers who were there, But We found not there any just persons except in one house: And We left there a sign for such as fear the grievous penalty (v 24-37).
The sign of destruction of Pharaoh
“And in Moses (was another sign): Behold, We sent him to Pharaoh, with authority manifest. But (Pharaoh) turned back with his chiefs, and said, “A sorcerer, or one possessed!” So We took him and his forces, and threw them into the sea; and his was the blame” (v 38-40).
The sign of the destruction of ‘Ad and Thamud
“
And in the ‘Ad: Behold, We sent against them the devastating wind: It left nothing whatever that it came up against, but reduced it to ruin and rottenness. And in the Thamud (was another sign): Behold, they were told, “Enjoy (your brief day) for a little while!” but they insolently defied the command of their Lord: So the stunning noise (of an earthquake) seized them, even while they were looking on. Then they could not even stand (on their feet), nor could they help themselves” (v 41-45)
The sign of the destruction of Noah’s people
“So were the people of Noah before them for they wickedly transgressed” (v 46)
Muhammad considers he is like the previous prophets
“Hasten ye then to Allah: I am from Him a warner to you, clear and open!
And make not another an object of worship with Allah: I am from Him a warner to you, clear and open!
Similarly, no messenger came to the peoples before them, but they said (of him) in like manner, “A sorcerer or one possessed”! (v 50-52)
Muhammad told to withdraw from Mecca
“So turn away from them: not thine is the blame. But teach (thy message) for teaching benefits the believers (v 54-55).
Due to outright rejection by the Meccans Muhammad fled to Medina in A.D.622.
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Sura 52. At-Tur (The Mountain) Mecca
The chapter is probably named from the mention of a mountain in verse 1 “By the Mount, ” Judgement is coming because the Meccans continue to reject Muhammad. The Qurraish are becoming more violent and plotting against Muhammad.
Doom pronounced by oaths
“By the Mount, By a decree inscribed In a scroll unfolded;
By the much-frequented fane; By the canopy raised high;
And by the ocean filled with swell
Verily, the doom of thy Lord will indeed come to pass; There is none can avert it (v 1-8)
The God of the Bible swears only by Himself yet in the Quran Allah swears by things less than Himself. Here the ‘the mountain’ could be a place loved and honoured by the Meccan Arabs and therefore appealed to or it may well refer to Mount Sinai; the ‘scroll unfolded’ is either the book where all men’s actions are recorded or the book of God’s decrees or the law of Moses which was declared at Sinai or even the Quran itself; the ‘frequent fane’ (the frequented house), is generally thought to be the Ka’aba (even while it had 360 idols in it). By all these oaths Allah assures the Qurraish that punishment would descend.
Judgement of unbelievers
“That day shall they be thrust down to the fire of hell, irresistibly. “This: it will be said, “Is the fire, which ye were wont to deny! “Is this then a fake, or is it ye that do not see? “Burn ye therein: the same is it to you whether ye bear it with patience, or not: Ye but receive the recompense of your deeds.” (v 13-16)
Bliss of believers
“As to the righteous, they will be in gardens, and in happiness, Enjoying the (bliss) which their Lord hath bestowed on them, and their Lord shall deliver them from the penalty of the fire. (To them will be said:) “Eat and drink ye, with profit and health, because of your deeds.” They will recline on thrones arranged in ranks; and We shall join them to companions, with beautiful big and lustrous eyes.” (v 17-.20 and then on to v 28).
For the encouragement of the discouraged and dispirited believers the chief delight of Paradise are set forth bridal couches, choice wines, and the perfume of musk, robes of silk. The trials of Hell have been earlier set forth in order to terrify their opponents. Muslim mystics and philosophers after being influenced by Christian thought and western culture believe that these words should not be taken literally. Yet Muhammad’s mind was intensely practical and not in the least given to mysticism for him the punishments of hell and the bliss of heaven were material and no orthodox Muslim attempts to allegorise them.
In respect of the anticipation of sharing a future with the ‘beautiful wide-eyed Huris we must reflect on the matter that Muhammad was living a chaste life at the time of this sura. He was undoubtedly fond of Khadiajah, yet he was subject to her. She was the master, she had raised him from poverty, given him a position, placed him in comparative affluence; but she kept her fortune in her own hands. Even if Muhammad had wanted to take another wife he did not have the necessary dowry. That his moderation then was compulsory seems to some critics evident from the fact that as soon as he was free he gratified his wishes to the full. Two months after the death of Khadijah he was married to Sauda and betrothed to ’Ayesha (Sell).
Muhammad faces ridicule
“Thou art no soothsayer, nor art thou one possessed. Or do they say: “A poet! we await for him some calamity (hatched) by time!” (v 29, 30)
“Or do they say, “He fabricated the (message)”? Nay, they have no faith!” v 33)
A plot against Muhammad
“Or do they intend a plot? But those who defy Allah are themselves involved in a plot!” (v 42)
Muhammad to wait patiently for their judgement
“So leave them alone until they encounter that day of theirs, wherein they shall swoon,The day when their plotting will avail them nothing and no help shall be given them. And verily, for those who do wrong, there is another punishment besides this: But most of them understand not. Now await in patience the command of thy Lord: for verily thou art in Our eyes: and celebrate the praises of thy Lord the while thou standest forth” (v 45-48).
Sura 53. An-Najm (The Star) Mecca
Muh
ammad asserts that the Quran is not his work but God’s. A description is given of the visit of the angel Gabriel and the inspiration which he bestowed. This chapter also includes the passage known as the ‘Satanic Verses.’ This chapter is named by an oath to a star in the first verse: “By the star when it goes down”
“By the star when it goes down,
Your companion is neither astray nor being misled. Nor does he say (aught) of (his own) desire.
It is no less than inspiration sent down to him” (v 1-4)
Allah here swears by a star that Muhammad is not deceived and does not speak his own words; the Quran it is claimed is inspiration sent down.
In assessing Muhammad’s character Dr Wherry says “How often do men start out with noble purposes in life only to end their lives in disgrace or infamy! That much of sincerity charaterised the conduct of Muhammad cannot be denied. That he enunciated much of what is taught in the Quran, believing it to be true, we do not deny. That he wrought great reforms amongst his countrymen, we do not question. That he was earnest and honest in his hatered of idolatry, we do not dispute. We have no desire to deny to Muhammad any praise to him honestly due as a man, reformer, statesman, a general or a hero. What we do deny is that he was unconscious of deception in the production and proclamation of that ‘revelation’ which he called the Quran. What we deliberately assert, after having studied this subject for well nigh twenty years, is that the prophet of Islam did consciously fabricate speeches and palm them off upon the people as the veryword of God.”
Here is a relevant hadith Narrated Abdullah: The first Sura in which a prostration was mentioned, was Sura An-Najm Allah’s Apostle prostrated (while reciting it), and everybody behind him prostrated except a man whom I saw taking a hand-full of dust in his hand and prostrated on it. Later I saw that man killed as an infidel, and he was Umaiya bin Khalaf. (Bukhari Volume 6, Book 60, Number 386)
Muhammad taught by the angel Gabriel
“He was taught by one mighty in power, endued with wisdom: for he appeared (in stately form); While he was in the highest part of the horizon: Then he approached and came closer, And was at a distance of but two bow-lengths or (even) nearer; so did (Allah) convey the inspiration to His servant what He (meant) to convey. The (Prophet’s) heart in no way falsified that which he saw. Will ye then dispute with him concerning what he saw? For indeed he saw him at a second descent, Near the Lote-tree beyond which none may pass: Near it is the garden of abode. Behold, the Lote-tree was shrouded (in mystery) (His) sight never swerved, nor did it go wrong! For truly did he see, of the signs of his Lord, the greatest!” (v 5-18)
The Lote tree marks the boundary where neither man nor angel can pass; it is in the seventh heaven on the right hand of the throne of God. Its leaves are fabled to be as numerous as the members of the whole human family, and each leaf is said to bear the name of an individual. The tree is shaken on the fifteenth night of Ramadan every year a little after sunset, when the leaves on which are inscribed the names of those who are to die in the ensuing year fall. They are either wholly withered or they have yet some green remaining according to the months or weeks the person has yet to live.
The one ‘mighty in power’, is Gabriel, who is said to have taught Muhammad the Quran. He came so near that he was less than a distance of two bows length. On another occasion he was seen standing by the Lote-tree. Here is a relevant hadith: Bukhari Volume 6, Book 60, Number 379: Narrated Abdullah: Regarding the Verses: ‘And was at a distance of but two bow-lengths or (even) nearer; So did (Allah) convey the inspiration to His slave (Gabriel) and then he Gabriel) conveyed (that to Muhammad…’ (53.9-10) Ibn Mas’ud narrated to us that the Prophet had seen Gabriel with six hundred wings.
“
Have ye seen Lat. and ‘Uzza, and another, the third (goddess), Manat? What! for you the male sex, and for Him, the female? Behold, such would be indeed a division most unfair! These are nothing but names which ye have devised, ye and your fathers (v 19-23)
Al-Lat was the idol of the tribe Thakif at Nakhlah. Al-Uzza was it is said, an idol of the Kinnah tribe; but its hereditary priests were stationed along the mercantile route to Syria, in the neighbourhood of Chaibar, the name means most mighty. Manat was a large stone. The name means ‘to flow‘, from the flowing of the blood of the victims offered to it. Five other idols are mentioned in Sura 71:22.
While Muhammad recited the above words, he added ’These are the exalted females and verily their intercession is to be hoped for.’ These words were enthusiastically received by the idolaters but next day he recanted, saying that Satan had put these words in his mouth, and then he gave the passage as it now stands.
Judgement on ancient idolatrous tribes who rejected Allah’s signs
“And that it is He Who destroyed the (powerful) ancient ‘Ad. And the Thamud nor gave them a lease of perpetual life. And before them, the people of Noah, for that they were most unjust and most insolent transgressors, And He destroyed the overthrown cities (of Sodom and Gomorrah). So that (ruins unknown) have covered them up. Then which of the gifts of thy Lord, (O man,) wilt thou dispute about? (v 50-55)
Muhammad comes from a series of warners
“This is a warner, of the (series of) warners of old! The (judgement) ever approaching draws nigh: The threatened hour is nigh.
No (soul) but Allah can lay it bare. Do ye then wonder at this recital?
And will ye laugh and not weep, Wasting your time in vanities?
But fall ye down in prostration to Allah, and adore (v 56-62)!
* * * * * * * * * *
Sura 54. Al-Qamar (The Moon) Mecca
The title of this chapter owes its name to the statement in verse one that the moon will be split as a sign of judgement: “The hour (of judgment) is nigh, and the moon is cleft asunder.” The hostility of the Quarraish continues. They ask for a sign but Muhammad continues to justify his divine mission on the basis that he along with the earlier prophets was rejected. Opponents of Noah rejected him and called him an impostor; the people of Lot treated his warning as a lie; the people of Pharaoh treated the miracles that Moses performed as impostures. The Quarraish are threatened that they too will experience their fate as previous peoples had experienced earlier if the do not obey Muhammad and so comes the repeated refrain “is there any that will receive admonition?”
The
split moon
“The hour (of judgment) is nigh, and the moon is cleft asunder.
But if they see a sign, they turn away, and say, “This is (but) transient magic.”
They reject and follow their lusts but every matter has its appointed time (v 1-3).
Muslims point to their traditions to claim that the moon be cleft in two was actually a miracle: : Narrated Anas: That the Meccan people requested Allah’s Apostle to show them a miracle, and so he showed them the splitting of the moon. (Bukhari Volume 4, Book 56, Number 830 and 831)
This is opposed to the teaching of the Quran elsewhere, in which the power to comply with the demand for a sign is always distinctly disclaimed. The usual explanation is the natural one that the expression merely refers to one of the signs of the coming day of judgement.
Destruction of the ‘Adites and refrain
“The ‘Ad rejected (truth): then how terrible was My penalty and My warning? For We sent against them a furious wind, on a day of violent disaster, Plucking out men as if they were roots of palm-trees torn up (from the ground). Yea, how (terrible) was My penalty and My warning!
But We have indeed made the Quran easy to understand and remember:
then is there any that will receive admonition? (v 18-22)
Muslims teach that as the ‘Adites holding fast to one another sought shelter in the clefts of the rocks and in pit’s but the wind tore them away and threw them down dead.
The destruction of Thamud and refrain
“The Thamud rejected
warners. …………. Ah! how (terrible) was My penalty and My warning!
And We have indeed made the Quran easy to understand and remember:
then is there any that will receive admonition? (v 20-32)
The destruction of Lot’s people and refrain
The people of Lut rejected (his) warning. …………….. “So taste ye My wrath and My warning.”
And We have indeed made the Quran easy to understand and remember:
then is there any that will receive admonition? (v 33-40)
The destruction of the people of Pharaoh
“To the people of Pharaoh, too, aforetime came warners (from Allah) The (people) rejected all Our signs;
but We seized them with such penalty (as comes) from One exalted in power, able to carry out His will” (v 41-42).
Qurraish no better then those destroyed and refrain
“Are your unbelievers, (O Qurraish), better than they?
Or have ye an immunity in the sacred books?
Soon will their multitude be put to flight, and they will show their backs.
Nay, the hour (of judgment) is the time promised them (for their full recompense):
And that hour will be most grievous and most bitter (v 43-46).
This will be their temporal punishment. On the day of the battle of Badr Muhammad is said to have repeated verse 46 as he was putting on his coat of mail.
The day they will be dragged through the fire on their faces they will hear
“Taste ye the touch of hell!” (v 48)
“And (oft) in the past, have We destroyed gangs like unto you:
then is there any that will receive admonition?” (v 51)
The hell of the Quran casts a lurid light on the Arab love of revenge. Muhammad seems to make God himself gloat over the misery of the lost.
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